No support to National Conference or PDP: BJP

Jammu, Dec 28 (IANS) After making considerable gains in Jammu region, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday ruled out support to the regional parties of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the National Conference and said it would sit in the opposition.”There is no question of any tie-up with the PDP, which has a separatist agenda and has hurt Jammu’s sentiments during the Amarnath land row,” senior BJP leader Chaman lal Gupta told IANS.

The BJP has caused a major upset to the Congress in the Hindu-majority Jammu region by winning six seats and was leading on six others. Counting of votes polled for the 87-member legislative assembly elections is being held Sunday.

The National Conference has emerged as the single largest party, winning five seats and leading on 24 others.

Gupta, a former central minister in the BJP-led government, said: “Omar Abdullah was a minister in the National Democratic Alliance government and has described it as a big mistake. So, there is no way we can have alliance with him also.”

He said the BJP would think of supporting whichever party agrees to its agenda of “Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India and equitable participation, power distribution and treatment of Jammu region and Ladakh along with the Kashmir Valley”.

He said the BJP would “prefer sitting in the opposition rather than compromising on these issues for the sake of power”.